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Topic: Sports Talk Vocabulary That Bugs You (Read 4326 times)

Around here I think pretty much all of us spend a lot of our time reading and listening to sports talk and analysis. That kind of discourse tends to involve some common trends in terms of phrases, word choice, and sentence construction.

What are some examples that stand out to you? What bugs you the most?

One that comes to mind for me is the overuse of the word "historical."

Also lots of use of the nonsense phrase "very unique."

Then of course there's the rampant use of passive language, apparently to make normal occurrences sound more momentous.

Finally, one I find myself doing a lot in addition to hearing all the time - - constantly referencing players as "guys," as in, "He's a guy who can really help you on defense."

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I always like whenever they ask someone like Jay Bilas on draft night what position a guy will play in the pros and he says, "he's a basketball player."

Off the top of my head, I also hate the terms rim protector, floor spacer, basketball iq, can guard multiple positions (which is, often times, completely unsupported by reality), and how a player can play both sides of the ball . Since when does a basketball have sides? It's a sphere, not a square. Ugh.

I get bugged by the words "Wingspan" and "Measurables" and how those terms are used. Especially when the athlete they are used to describe is Black. I mean, it's only been about 150 years since people would buy other people at auction based on their "Measureables"

The draft kinda carries this weird racial charge for me too. These kids are people and their person-hood is being completely ignored based on their past physical performance and estimated future upside.

I also don't like the idea of "Sacrificing the body" as something which should be praised. Each athlete's body should be more important than the team or the game. I think that idea is really gross.

That said, I still love the draft and see the importance of physical measurements--I wish that we as fans had more access to the mental/personality side of things which teams use to judge prospects.

'Ball Screen(s)' and 'Bully Ball' . Since when is exploiting a match up/mismatch in the post akin to any form of bullying? Lol, no wonder no one plays inside anymore - who would want to have a reputation as a bully in any part of their life?

I get bugged by the words "Wingspan" and "Measurables" and how those terms are used. Especially when the athlete they are used to describe is Black. I mean, it's only been about 150 years since people would buy other people at auction based on their "Measureables"

The draft kinda carries this weird racial charge for me too. These kids are people and their person-hood is being completely ignored based on their past physical performance and estimated future upside.

I also don't like the idea of "Sacrificing the body" as something which should be praised. Each athlete's body should be more important than the team or the game. I think that idea is really gross.

That said, I still love the draft and see the importance of physical measurements--I wish that we as fans had more access to the mental/personality side of things which teams use to judge prospects.

along the same lines, it bugs me when a white player is called "heady" and a black player is called "athletic".

Any time someone says "i dont care what the numbers say, if i need someone to take the last shot im taking kobe."

The WAR phrases bug me too. when a spoiled NBA player is willing to go TO WAR...

This doesn't bug me at all, though I understand it does seem to many others. First of all, sports were developed as mock war. Why not use some of the same terminology and mindset?

Secondly, analogies make the world more relatable and understandable. They aren't meant to be literal. Understanding this makes for a richer life experience (and a more interesting, diverse language).

because it isnt and that is a good thing. other teams are not ISIS. no one is going to die, nor should they.

it isnt war, which intentionally inflicts death, destruction, and damage on huge numbers of human beings. basketball is a sport for entertainment of people. let's not confuse one for the other.

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